Cops: Brookhaven officer dragged by newspaper theft suspect

BROOKHAVEN -- Police said they are searching for a man who punched a police officer and dragged him in his sport utility vehicle during an arrest for allegedly stealing newspapers from Edgmont Avenue businesses over the past week.

"We're still looking for him," Brookhaven Officer David Wettan said. "We've been on the lookout for him."

Wettan said the suspect has been stealing bundles of the Delaware County Daily Times since June 8.

"After they get dropped off, this guy comes by and steals the papers before the businesses open," the officer said, adding that similar incidents have occurred recently in Aston and Parkside.

Advertisement

About 5:10 a.m. Saturday, a Brookhaven police officer was doing a stakeout in an unmarked car across the street from the Swiss Farms at 4501 Edgmont Ave.

"He ends up seeing the vehicle," Wettan said.

After the officer, dressed in full uniform, walked up to him, "the guy played it off like he's now delivering the papers," Wettan added.

The police officer then attempted to arrest him.

"At the last second, (the suspect) makes a dash for the driver's seat," Wettan said. "He jumps in the driver's seat ... The officer reaches in the window to try to prevent him from leaving."

According to Wettan, the suspect then started punching the officer, who was holding onto his shirt.

Then, the suspect started to drive away, having to swerve around the officer's car, which had been parked to block a getaway, police said.

The officer then let go after "he kind of almost got pinched by his own car," Wettan said.

The officer then radioed for help, got into his vehicle and lost the suspect on Upland Road.

Wettan described the suspect as a black male in his late 20s or early 30s, weighing between 220-230 pounds He was wearing long khaki shorts, a gray cutoff shirt and a taqiyah, or Muslim knit cap.

The suspect's vehicle was described as an early 2000s Ford Explorer, either steel blue or gray.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Brookhaven police at 610-876-6142.